The List: 3 Jul 1992 (Issue 178)

I Flnltribe are producing Sparks! We thought it was meant metaphorically at first. but the 70s white disco/pop pioneers are

E havingatrack called ‘NationalCrime

Awareness Week' reworked by the band (who just turned down remixes of The Mission and The Sugarcubes) and Mark Stagg of K-Klass. ‘We‘ve got the go-ahcad. and eleven songs to work on.‘say the Finis. ’ltmight

; just be a single or we could i end up doing a big project. ; Sparks don‘t have a deal at = the moment. We're in the

process of trying to get them one. possibly with Mute.‘ Failing that. Sparks‘ comeback LP might appear on their own Finiflcx.

IJakkl Brambles. the DJ who introduced the concept ofthe menstrual cycle to Radio 1 . has followed in the footsteps of Big Country‘s Stuart Adamson by being appointed the new president ofthe Music In Scotland Trust. She will take on the honorary post (live on Radio l)at noon on 13 July — mere minutes before Wet Wet Wet strike the first chord of their free concert on her beloved home of Arran. a show she was largely responsible for bringing about. Judging by her remarks so far. she could be a staunch ally in MIST‘s struggle for a self-supporting Scottish Music Industry. ‘For too long.‘ thunders the indomitable Brambles. ‘Scotland‘s natural assets have been plundered by others. For too long. others have profited from the skill and toil ofthe Scots. It‘s time to make our homegrown talent work for to.‘ Like, er. not takinga job at Broadcasting House. or what'.’

I It's the film of the year! Well. we don‘t know about that. because we haven‘t seen it. but the original soundtrack to Mo' Money is a worthwhile purchase in itself. Dance producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis have assembled a crew which includes Public Enemy. Sounds Of Blackness. Big Daddy Kane. Ralph Tresvant. Caron Wheeler. Luther Vandross and more . . . and we have ten copies to give away to the smart people who can answer this question: Whose career did Jam and Lewis revitalise with (‘ontroli’ Answers on a postcard to the Edinburgh office. stating a preference for CD or cassette.

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Slabs of sound

Another American press hype or the best band since the Pixies? Fiona

Shepherd goes sidewalkin‘ ‘

with Pavement.

Pavement are the latest guitar noisenik rave sensations to come

bustin‘ straight outta the glorious US

musical underground. Except this

time it‘s true. They really are causing

pretty major ripples with their first full-length album release Slanted And Enchanted. despite never having graced these shores before the beginning oflast week and generally having to rely on basic complimentary word ofenthusiastic mouth alone.

Why this should be is anyone‘s guess. but it might be because. in complete contrast to the sniggerworthy Spitting Image Paddy Ashdown puppet, their music is the one thing and the other, and not somewhere in between. Confused? Spare a thought for singer/guitarist Spiral Stairs — so called because he once had an argument with an inebriated spiral staircase. Or something. Anyway. he‘s got the bump to prove it. In the heady whirl ofit all. he‘s taken to saying things like ‘it‘s completely different but it has the same feel to it‘ and ‘we‘re all diverse but we like the same things also‘.

It‘s safe to say that Pavement span various avenues. but there‘s been an overemphasis on their debt to Brit culture, evinced. according tosome. by the fact they‘re called Pavement and not, say, Sidewalk. (One of the band probably got drunk and fell over in a British street — you know

how much calculation these American bands go into when choosing a name.) At the moment. Pavement owe as much of their existence to The Velvet Underground and the Pixies as they do to The Fall and That Petrol Emotion. Slanted And line/ranted pays tribute in equal measure to all these bands. Pavement may yet become a US version of'l‘he Fall. but

they still have to shake off one major adverse influence . ..

‘Duran Duran. how can you beat that? I had to take my stupid sister to a Duran Duran concert. I can‘t wait for the Duran Duran revival. I‘m going to dye my hair right now!‘ (Fiona Shepherd)

Pavement play The Cat/rouse, Glasgow on Wed 15 and The Venue, Edinburgh on Thurs 16.

EILE- Family affair

Following in the footsteps of a famous lather can sometimes be a problem, but it has never seemed so for drummer Clark Tracey. Indeed, when he turned professional at the age of 17, it was — and still is- as a member of Stan Tracey’s various bands. The experience he gained in playing within ensembles ranging from trio right through to big band has been a huge formative influence on his playing.

As a freelance drummer, Clark has a lengthy and impressive “played with’ list, and is currently a member of trumpeter Guy Barker’s quintet, the ‘How’s Yer Father’ outfit with with Alan Skidmore and John Dankworth, and the regular bands used by singers Tina May (Clark’s wife) and Claire Martin. The Scottish connection includes

i l

Clark Tracey

recent work with Tommy Smith and Dave Newton, as well as Martin Taylor and Jim Mullen.

32 The List 3— léJuly 1992

MARCMARNII-Z

A powerful, swinging drummer, Tracey has never been content simply

to play the sideman, however, and has

led his own quintet since 1984. The band are about to release their third recording, ‘We’ve Been Expecting You’, the successor to their fresh debut album ‘Suddenly Last Tuesday’, which established them as arguably the most exciting of the new British bop bands in 1986, and the more ambitious suite album ‘Stiperstones’ (more shades of Stan), released two years later.

The drummer has a new bass partner in Arnie Somogyi, while pianist Steve Melling is also a fine composer, and with a front line of Guy Barker and saxophonist Jamie Talbot, the band can hardly go wrong. Their short Scottish tour will take them to Paisley (see listings) and Aberdeen’s new Lemon Tree (Tue 7), as well as a couple of Glasgow Jazz Festival